Welding hood

ABSTRACT

A welder&#39;&#39;s helmet having a motor secured thereto to move the smoked glass from a position covering the opening in the helmet eliminating harmful rays from reaching the wearer&#39;&#39;s eyes to a position where it does not cover the opening and is out of the wearer&#39;&#39;s line of vision enabling inspection of the work. The movement of the smoked glass is controlled by a battery-operated motor which is controlled for both operation and direction of operation by means of a diaphragm switch responsive to the wearer&#39;&#39;s breath. The motor drives a threaded rod upon which a split nut is secured. The split nut is held in threaded engagement with the rod by means of a spring-biased clip which provides sufficient inward pressure to cause the nut to move upon the rod when rotated by the motor under normal conditions. In the event the glass is impeded from movement or has reached the end of its track, the rod will spin within the split nut, overcoming the bias of the spring clip and causing no damage to the elements.

United States Patent 1191 Fassett et al.

[ June 24, 1975 1 1' )WELDING noon [76] Inventors: Donald G. Fassett, Route 3 Box 670,

Olympia, Wash. 98506; Ralph F. Thompson, 9242 S. G St., Tacoma, Wash. 98444 {22 Filed: Oct. 19, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 408,066

[52] U.-S. Cl. 2/8; 74/424.8 A; 85/32 V; 200/83 Z [51] Int. Cl. F16p 1/06; A6lf 9/00 [58] Field of Search 2/8; 85/33, 32 V; 74/4248 A, 89.15; 200/83 Z, 86 A [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 1,346,996 7/1920 Van Berke] 74/4248 A X 1,346,997 7/1920 Van Berkel 74/4248 A 2,272,001 2/1942 Goode, Sr 2/8 2,417,883 3/1947 Oschin Primary Examiner-Werner H. Schroeder Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Dowrey & Cross 57 ABSTRACT A welders helmet havinga motor secured thereto to move the smoked glass from a position covering the opening in the helmet eliminating harmful rays from reaching the wearers eyes to a position where it does not cover the opening and is out of the wearers line of vision enabling inspection of the work. The movement of the smoked glass is controlled by a battery-operated motor which is controlled for both operation and direction of operation by means of a diaphragm switch responsive to the wearers breath. The motor drives a threaded rod upon which a split nut is secured. The split nut is held in threaded engagement with the rod by means of a spring-biased clip which provides sufficient inward pressure to cause the nut to move upon the rod when rotated by the motor under normal conditions. In the event the glass is impeded from move- 3,l22,731 2/1964 H hi ment or has reached the end of its track, the rod will 3,579,638 5/1971 Davis et a1. 2/8 p Within the Split Overcoming the bias of e FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS spring clip and causing no damage to the elements.

1,905,386 8/1970 Germany 200/83 2 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures s 1 2 1s 4 i 14 F. l I t 6 3O 28 I Em A! 1 I65 I \A I SHEET PATENTEDJUN 24 I975 FIG 2 PATENTEDJUN 24 ms 3 8 9O 646 FIG 4 WELDING noon BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When a welder is doing detailed or intricate work, it is not only necessary that he protects his eyes from the extremely bright flash and occasional spattering generated by the welding operation itself but, further, he must be able to occasionally observe and inspect his work to assure that it is satisfactory. In the past, the only method of inspecting the work was to remove the hands from the work and lift the helmet so that the smoked glass which normally covers the vision opening in front of the welders eyes would not impede the sight.

Other more recent approaches to the problem permitting inspection are taught by U.S. Pat. No. 2,058,169, granted to Monteque on October 20, 1936, which includes an interconnection with the welding apparatus, per se, to control the opening or closing of the shielding glass. U.S. Pat. No. 2,171,052, granted to Tatter on Aug. 29, 1939, utilizes a thumb-operated push button to remove the shaded glass; U.S. Pat. No. 2,272,001, granted to Goode on Feb. 3, 1942, uses a mouth-operated diaphragm for raising and lowering the smoked glass on a welders hood; U.S. Pat. No. 2,613,353, granted to Schnitzler on Oct. 14, 1952, uses a mouth-operated diaphragm to operate a ratchet which raises and lowers the protective lens; U.S. Pat. No. 2,370,499, granted Feb. 27, 1945, to Shields, utilizes the chin of the operator to swing the protective glass from position; U.S. Pat. No. 3,086,212, granted to Hill on Apr. 23, 1963, utilizes the chin of the operator to pivotally move the smoked glass; U.S. Pat. No. 3,086,213 granted Apr. 23, 1963, to Crozat, utilizes the chin to raise and lower the smoked glass; U.S. Pat. No. 3,239,844, granted to Hoover on Mar. 15, 1966, utilizes a pneumatically-operated ram controlled by the wearers breath to raise and lower the smoked glass; U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,317, granted June 27, 1967, to Vattuone, utilizes the breath of the operator to close a circuit actuating a servo-motor to raise and lower the smoked glass; U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,207, granted Sept. 5, 1967, to Perry, utilizes a chin-operated mechanism to raise and lower the glass; U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,392, granted to Hodge, et al. on June 30, 1970, likewise uses the chin to operate the smoked glass mechanism; U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,058, granted Nov. 17, 1970, to LoGuidice, utilizes a mouth-operated switch to control a motor which raises and lowers the smoked glass from in front of the operator; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,638, granted May 25, 1971, to Davis, et al., utilizes a breathoperated switch, a self-reversing worm and a plurality of limit switches to control the raising and lowering of the smoked glass.

With these prior art references in mind, it is to be noted that the mechanisms suffer from a variety of drawbacks including the necessity of the operator keeping his mouth open so that he may inspect, the necessity of the operator keeping pressure upon a bellows or diaphragm to retain the smoked glass out of the way, the necessity of utilizing the operators hand to cause the movement and, further, in those devices wherein an electric motor is used, the danger of neglecting to turn off the motor at the proper time and permitting the glass to reach the end of the track causing the motor to overheat.

With the above-noted prior art and problems in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism whereby the smoked glass of the welders helmet may be quickly and easily moved from a position in front of his eyes for inspection purposes and whereby a mechanical interconnection is utilized which permits the operation and yet prevents damage to either the motor or other mechanism.

It is another object of the present invention to utilize a simple diaphragm-type switch in a welders helmet to control the operation of a motor which raises and lowers the smoked glass permitting the necessary inspection.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a split nut which is spring-biased to an engaging position with a threaded rock, whereby continual turning of the rod after the nut has travelled its path will not damage either the nut or the rod. The spring bias is determined by that amount of force necessary to do the described operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional view through the helmet showing it in position upon the wearers head.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the motor and other operating mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a partial schematic showing the operating circuitry in combination with a front view of the welders helmet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS As seen in FIG. 1, the welding helmet includes a standard headband 2 which is adjustable to fit a variety of heads and includes an over-the-top-of-the-head stabilizing strap 4. The helmet is secured to the strap by hinge means 6 which allows the helmet to be tilted out of the way without requiring complete removal. The helmet itself comprises a heavy paper-board shell 8 which essentially covers the front half of the wearers head. The shell includes a reinforcing band 10 around to open end of the helmet assuring sufficient stiffness.

Secured to the welders helmet and forming an integral part of the present invention is a diaphragm switch 12, which will be described in greater detail hereinafter. The diaphragm switch is actuated by a hollow conduit 14 which extends downwardly along the interior of the helmet and terminates in a mouthpiece l6, enabling the wearer to control'the switch without utilizing his hands. In the preferred embodiment, the wearer will blow into the tube to raise the window and suck on the tube to lower the window.

The diaphragm switch is a double-pole, double-throw switch having three positions. Also secured to the diaphragm switch 12 is an electrical conduit 18- which extends down the interior of the helmet and terminates in a battery pack 20 which may be carried in the wearers pocket or strapped to his belt, as he prefers.

Extending outwardly from the welders helmet are a pair of electrical leads 22 which interconnect with a motor 24. Driven by the motor 24 is a threaded shaft 26 which, as will be described in detail with respect to FIG. 2, raises and lowers the innermost window 28 which is smoked. The smoked glass 28 is protected by a fixed clear glass shield 30 which is installed in front of the smoked glass 28. As will be readily apparent, the

only glass' which need be moved to improve the wearers vision is the smoked glass 28. i

As seen in FIG. 2, the motor 24 and threaded shaft 26 are enclosed in a protective casing 32. Secured to the threaded shaft 26 is a nut 34 made of nylon or similar material which has secured thereto a clamp 36 which is in turn secured to a framework element 38 in which is mounted the smoked glass 28.

As can be seen in HQ 3, the spring clamp 36 is secured at the center portion of the loop 40, and a pair oflegs 42 stand outwardly therefrom and terminate in a pair of rectangular jaw members. The rectangular jaw members are biased inwardly by loop 40 and grip the nut 34 which, as can be seen in this view, is split such .thatt-he first half 46 is biased against one portion of the threaded shaft 26 and the other half 48 is biased against the other; half. The jaws 44 fit into appropriate grooves cut into the outer portion of the nut 34.

. lnoperation, the motor 24 causes the shaft 26 to rotate, moving the threaded split nut 34 upwardly and downwardly thereon. As the nut 34 moves, so moves the lens 28, selectively removing the smoked glass from ,in-front of the wearers eyes. If the wearer, because of concentration upon his work, forgets to remove the pressure in the diaphragm switch and the threaded nut reaches the maximum upper or lower position the motor force causes the spring legs 42 to move out- .wardly, permitting the threaded rod 26 to spin within ber 54 to which the battery is connected. A pair of contacts 56 are located upon either side of the diaphragm 54. When the operator blows into the tube and increases'the pressure, the diaphragm 54 will flex upwardly and the contacts 56 on the diaphragm will tion of the shell. By sucking on the tube, he may flex the diaphragm downwardly, contacting the opposite side of the shell and reversing the motor.

Thus, as can be seen, the present invention permits the welding operator to quickly and easily raise and lower the smoked glass window, permitting him to examine his work. He is able to do this without a great deal of attention diverted from his work since he cannot damage the apparatus. The wearer is able to retain the smoked glass in either its raised or lowered position without effort beyond that necessary for the initial movement.

The embodiments of the invention in which a particular property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a welding helmet including a face shield having an opening, and a window reciprocatively mounted on the face shield to be moved to and from a viewing position in registry with the opening, the improvement contact the appropriate contacts 58 on the upper por-" comprising:

actuator means responsive to the breath of the wearer for moving the window to and from its viewing position; I 1 1 means connecting said actuator means withthe window; said connecting meansiincluding, a threaded shaft having a longitudinal axis, said shaft being rotatively movable -by,said' actuator means about its longitudinal axis, nut means secured to the window,

and yieldingly threadedly engaged with the shaft to be moved along the shaft in response to rotationof said shaft about its longitudinal axis, .so as to thereby correspondingly move the window to and 1 from its viewing position; I i said nut means comprising a plurality of mutually opposed nut sections threadedly engaging said shaft, and means for biasing said nut sections relatively toward each other so as to yieldingly grip said'shaft therebetween, said biasing means being adapted to allow said nut sections to beforced out of engagement with said shaft in response to'continued rotation of said shaft about its longitudinal axis when movement of the window is stopped.

2. The welding helmet of claim 1 including two mutu ally opposed nut sections, and wherein said biasing means comprises a spring clamp including two miitually opposed jaws respectively engaged with said" two nut sections.

3. The welding helmet of claim 2 wherein said spring clamp further comprises an intermediate portion secured to the window.

4. The welding helmet of claim 1 wherein said window is movable between its viewing position and a stowed position in which it is out of registry.with the opening, said biasing means being adapted to allow said nut sections to be forced out of engagement with said shaft in response to continued rotation of said shaft about its longitudinal axis when the window is at its stowed and viewing positions.

5. The welding helmet of claim 1 wherein said actuator means comprises a reversible motor, andpressure actuated switch means for actuating said motor.

6. In combination, a threaded shaft having alongitudinal axis about which said shaft is rotatable, nut means threadedly engaged with said shaft to be moved along said shaft in response to rotation of said shaft about its longitudinal axis, said nut means including a plurality of mutually opposed nut sections threadedly engaging said shaft, and means for biasing said nut sections relatively toward each other so as to yieldingly grip said shaft therebetween, said biasing means being adapted to allow said nut sections to beforced out of engagement with said shaft in response to continued rotation of said shaft when movement of said nut means is stopped.

7. The combination of claim 6 including two mutually opposed nut sections, and wherein said biasing means comprises a spring clamp including two mutually opposed jaws respectively engagedwith said two nut sections. 

1. In a welding helmet including a face shield having an opening, and a window reciprocatively mounted on the face shield to be moved to and from a viewing position in registry with the opening, the improvement comprising: actuator means responsive to the breath of the wearer for moving the window to and from its viewing position; means connecting said actuator means with the window; said connecting means including a threaded shaft having a longitudinal axis, said shaft being rotatively movable by saId actuator means about its longitudinal axis, nut means secured to the window and yieldingly threadedly engaged with the shaft to be moved along the shaft in response to rotation of said shaft about its longitudinal axis, so as to thereby correspondingly move the window to and from its viewing position; said nut means comprising a plurality of mutually opposed nut sections threadedly engaging said shaft, and means for biasing said nut sections relatively toward each other so as to yieldingly grip said shaft therebetween, said biasing means being adapted to allow said nut sections to be forced out of engagement with said shaft in response to continued rotation of said shaft about its longitudinal axis when movement of the window is stopped.
 2. The welding helmet of claim 1 including two mutually opposed nut sections, and wherein said biasing means comprises a spring clamp including two mutually opposed jaws respectively engaged with said two nut sections.
 3. The welding helmet of claim 2 wherein said spring clamp further comprises an intermediate portion secured to the window.
 4. The welding helmet of claim 1 wherein said window is movable between its viewing position and a stowed position in which it is out of registry with the opening, said biasing means being adapted to allow said nut sections to be forced out of engagement with said shaft in response to continued rotation of said shaft about its longitudinal axis when the window is at its stowed and viewing positions.
 5. The welding helmet of claim 1 wherein said actuator means comprises a reversible motor, and pressure actuated switch means for actuating said motor.
 6. In combination, a threaded shaft having a longitudinal axis about which said shaft is rotatable, nut means threadedly engaged with said shaft to be moved along said shaft in response to rotation of said shaft about its longitudinal axis, said nut means including a plurality of mutually opposed nut sections threadedly engaging said shaft, and means for biasing said nut sections relatively toward each other so as to yieldingly grip said shaft therebetween, said biasing means being adapted to allow said nut sections to be forced out of engagement with said shaft in response to continued rotation of said shaft when movement of said nut means is stopped.
 7. The combination of claim 6 including two mutually opposed nut sections, and wherein said biasing means comprises a spring clamp including two mutually opposed jaws respectively engaged with said two nut sections. 